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Thursday, September 11, 2008

News From The Front

A million hopeless faces dwell within protected walls,All waiting for a moment in life when they can heed the clarion call.And it's all so oppressive my mind feels like a sieve.This city's overcrowded, man, and I need room to live!

- Bad Religion

I heard theres plenty of room out there on Midway Island....if I can make my own nest scrape between the ablatross I would be happy. I have heard the clarion call, and I must go, but I am standed here until then.

Every year, every fall, I write a blog about how fucking great fall is. I mean, honestly, do I really need to go over it again? For those of us who live anywhere between San Francisco and Humboldt County, it is the only time of the year with reasonable weather in which we are not sitting in a catatonic state, choking on the gray fog and biting winds that are par for the course the rest of the year.

On the other hand, common and rare birds alike are moving south, and there is a sense of limitless possibilities in the air. But I dont need to explain this to you, do I? Any birding trip could turn into the stuff that (nerd) legends are made of, and awkward, eccentric people years later will wonder in awe what it was like to be there that day. Finding yourself on the Farallones or at Pt. Reyes raises your possibilities for something like this going down.

It is in that spirit that the PANAMERICANPERPETUALWEEKEND was established.....it simply would not work as well in any other season, it wouldnt be right......so as it rolls along, lets take a look at some recent events that have just transpired, and some that are still to come.

Today is September 11. In the spirit of change, this stupid event occurred in the appropriate season. Republicans gained their battle cry for years to come, the occupiers of the White House gained their reason to do whatever they wanted to, and a bunch of innocent people died for no reason at all. This event brought radical religious fervor to a boiling point for all parties involved, and we are still dealing with the backwash. It is also the date of an ex-girlfriend's birthday, which a few of us have always thought of being strangely appropriate.........

Earlier this week I was doing some biological surveys in southern Humboldt County, between Garberville and Bridgeville, with an archaeologist from Cameroon. I have never met, let alone spent time with anyone from Cameroon, so it was pretty interesting. He talked a lot; a lot of which was almost impossible to decipher. Things went smoothly; no angry landowners, no blundering into any grow patches, no serious injuries. A friendly Blue Grouse on a roadside was nice, and it was good to be hearing Pileated Woodpeckers again.

Last night consisted of seeing Bad Religion and winning a drunken spelling-bee afterwards. Both were epic events, for different reasons. It has been established that Im still really good at both seeing Bad Religion and spelling.

This Sunday I will be on a legendary Shearwater Journeys pelagic trip, out in Monterey Bay. It has been a long time coming. My enthusiasm should serve as sufficient chum for any mega-vagrants that might cruise by the boat; fish oil is nothing compared to what Im building up. If that sounds strangely sexual.......it is (not).

Hurricane Ike is bearing down on the Texas coast, wreaking havoc on people and birds alike. If you consider that poor people have it bad when a hurricane comes through, it is worth wondering how animal life deals with it. Birds who dont know whats coming and stay out of the area probably dont fare particularly well. I will be there to survey the aftermath next week; a detailed and debaucherous report is forthcoming.

Finally........Midway is still pending, and a decision is soon to be at hand. As I said, the possibilities are endless..........